San Pedro

Wednesday

In the morning I was treated to this...

A wonderful clear morning, warm sunshine and a view worth
waiting for. This, the Korean Peace Bell, was awarded to the
USA as a reminder of the lasting peace after the Korean war,
it is rung on regular occasions to keep the peace(!)

I tried to discover what there was to see and do here, but
it seemed there was very little except for spectacular views
and, er, spectacular views. I wandered off in search of
somewhere to get lunch. There was a small aquarium nearby, I
didn't need to see another one, there seemed to be a
school trip there on this day.

I walked and walked along in the heat, it was a lot warmer,
even than Santa Monica, and I was soon in need of a drink. I
found a hotel complex, but when I finally found an entrance
was told that I'd have to wait to be served; apparently
there was a queue two hours long... I came across a boy
scouts adventure centre, surely they would sell some kind of
food and drink. No. I came to a beach below the cliffs, and
sat down. A strange woman appeared from a beach hut and
started throwing bread to the gulls.

At least I found the tidal pools mentioned in the brochure,
there I saw many starfish and other aquatic creatures, a
couple told me they'd seen an octopus in one pool.
Eventually the tidal pools came to an end at a rocky
outcrop, there was no way past, and I didn't want to walk
all the way back around the cliff - but wait! A path up the
cliff side! Well, more of a winding bit of cliff that people
had worn away scrambling up and down. I scrambled up, and to
my pleasant surprise found a bar at the top! It appeared to
be a favourite haunt for local bikers but they were friendly
enough. Here I had my lunch and a well deserved drink, they
even had a TV going.

I walked a long way that day, the long straight street had
addresses which ran into the 1,000's. There was a marina,
too, which required a keycard for entry, even the
toilets were locked in this way! It contained many boats, no
doubt hundreds. I found my way back to the hostel and made a
hasty bus trip downtown to buy some food; I noticed the
strange French guy hanging around but he didn't seem to
notice me; I got my bus back to the hostel. Later that
evening the French guy appeared looking rather flustered
about something, not having had anything to eat nor shopped
for any either, strange chap! Perhaps he'd been trying to
find something to do all day also.

Although it was hot during the day, the cool breeze from the
sea made it cold at night. The minimal insulation of the
barracks meant that it got much colder than expected, there
was a heater but it made an awful racket and was soon
switched off! I snaffled some extra blankets from a spare
bunk and went off to sleep.

Thursday

Another day, and it was quite warm already when I got up.
Most people seemed to have left already, I took my time and
got the next bus towards Union Station.